How to get a good job after 50
We might roll our eyes when politicians suggest we work until we are 70 but the fact is many older Australians want, or need to work. As the baby boomer generation ages, the number of workers aged 60 plus is increasing at four times the rate of any other demographic.
With national age discrimination legislation barely a decade old, workers who lose their jobs at 55 or older spend an average of 72 weeks unemployed, 1.8 times longer than their younger counterparts.
It’s a statistic that calls for some hard-hitting strategies to level the playing field, which is what prompted veteran career coach Rupert French to write 'How To Get A Good Job After 50.'
“Age is not the issue; it is the perception of being too old that creates the barrier and, too often, that perception is greater in the mind of the job seeker than it is in the mind of an employer,” French says.
Rupert French and his master class for mature job seekers
The book outlines the strategies and tools to give mature workers the confidence to win a rewarding role.
A master of reinvention, having been a journalist, a teacher and a truckie, before his 20 years as a career coach, French knows firsthand just how to repackage transportable skills and make yourself a must-have job market commodity.
Over the past 20 or more years, French has developed a very effective job search methodology.
“Now that I’m getting closer to retirement, I would like to share these insights so that others can enjoy the same success that my clients have enjoyed,” he said.
In the books he writes:
"So you are over 50 and you’re looking for a job. Perhaps your job search isn’t being as easy as you would like it to be and you are beginning to think that no one wants you because you’re too old. Well, think again. You can, and almost certainly will, get a good job within a reasonably short period of time if you follow the strategies described in this book. By ‘good job’ I mean one that will give you job satisfaction — one that matches your interests, your values and personality; and one that is a job of your choosing. It may not be the same as your last job. That sort of job may no longer be available due to changes in technology or economic circumstances. But it will be a job that will give you fulfilment and, as a result, a feeling of success."
'How to Get a Good Job After 50' is available from Exile Publishing and wherever good books are sold RRP $29.99. Also available as an eBook.
Written by Shannon Wall. Republished with permission of Wyza.com.au.